Statement by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on the Resignation of the General Counsel

Release Date: January 23, 2007

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: (202) 282-8010

Phil Perry has announced his resignation as General Counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, effective February 6. I have continually relied on Phil for trusted counsel and sound analysis on the most complex and pressing issues that we face. He has been an outstanding general counsel and a highly-effective advocate in dealings with interagency partners and the Hill.

Phil is an exceptional attorney who has served the President since the beginning of the Administration in 2001, initially at the Department of Justice as Acting Associate Attorney General and Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General, where he managed the department's five civil litigating divisions. He later served, from 2002-2003, as General Counsel of the White House Office of Management and Budget, where he provided legal advice on the Administration's major legislative, regulatory, management and appropriations initiatives. Phil returned to public service in the spring of 2005 as General Counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, where he has provided steady and indispensable advice to senior leadership and directed more than 1,500 attorneys throughout the department.

I am grateful for Phil's years of service to the American people and his commitment to building a stronger and more integrated department, and I thank him for his many contributions to the security of the homeland. I regret to see him leave, although I look forward to our continued friendship.

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This page was last modified on January 23, 2007